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[url="http://www.xcor.com/index.html"]XCOR Aerospace[/url] has been in the aerospace business since 1999. They're headquartered at the Mojave Spaceport just down the tarmac from Virgin Galactic and their specialty is re-usable liquid fueled rocket engines.

A big project is a joint-venture with Boeing to develop a very low cost 30,000 lb-f/30 kilo-Newton 2nd stage liquid hydrogen engine for boosters that could easily be scaled way up. They have also developed a reciprocating piston liquid hydrogen pump that could further cut booster costs by replacing the very expensive turbo-pumps currently in use. Lots of interested parties for that one.

Then there is the project that is starting to get a lot of attention, and customers for when it flies - the Lynx suborbital spaceplane. Lynx is on one hand like SpaceShipTwo, and on the other hand very different.

[b]SS2 - Lynx comparisons:[/b]

SS2 is 60ft/18.29m long with a 27ft/8.23m wingspan.
Lynx is 30ft/9m long with a 24ft/7.5m wingspan

SS2 is launched from the White Knight Two mothership at 50,000 feet.
Lynx takes off directly from the ground, requiring a very short runway.

SS2 carries 6 passengers and a crew of 2.
Lynx carries 0-1 passengers and a crew of 1.

SS2 passengers will pay $200,000 at first
Lynx passengers will pay about $100,000 at first

SS2 passengers will be able to de-seat and float around and look out through portholes.
Lynx passengers will have to remain seated, but the cockpit has a panoramic view.

SS2 can only fly from spaceports with a runway capable of handling White Knight Two and refurbing its hybrid engine
Lynx can fly from short runways, and the fuel/liquid oxygen handling can be done using a portable cart.

SS2 can carry internal experiments and mount external micro-satellite size payloads.
Lynx can do the same, but it can also launch small orbital satellites from a Dorsal Pod on its back, or even carry small telescopes for missions like NASA's Sophia flying telescope - but much higher.

[b]These missions are not theoretical - they are sold missions and Lynx is very, very real![/b]

[color="#FF0000"][b]This is for Neoadorable:[/b][/color] they are working on a larger, orbital, Lynx-like vehicle that will also take off from a runway, but using a fly-back booster.

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thanks a lot for this Doc, you have made my day with the Lynx Mk II. this is indeed a step in the right direction, so we can prove to you that the future is indeed the Valkyrie rather than your beloved rockets thanks also for the highlight and personal shout-out, very much appreciated. please do keep us informed on these guys, i even love the winking lynx logo, very awesome, and looks like they have the right idea. i just hope they have the funding and resources to make it real in the next few years.

[quote]>
The first group of XCOR Lynx payload integration specialist firms include the following (in alphabetical order): the African Space Institute of Durban, South Africa; Cosmica Spacelines of Toulouse, France; NanoRacks of Lexington, Kentucky and Washington, D.C.; the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado; Space Chariots in Oxon, England; Space Experience Cura

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as usual you are right...XCOR builds an SSTO that can lift 1200 pounds now, proves it works for a few years, then we go up to several tons...then a couple decades later we got a proper SSTO. thanks as always for the reality check!

XCOR Aerospace reports that it recently closed a $5 million round of equity funding. The round, combined with cash on hand plus anticipated and existing contracts should fund the company through production of its Lynx Mark I Suborbital vehicle.

The financing included participation of new and previous investors. Among them are Esther Dyson, Pete Ricketts (co-owner of the Chicago Cubs) and several top Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and former venture capitalists.

"We have chosen to announce this wonderful news at the Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference here in Silicon Valley because we believe the future of commercial space access will be driven by enterprise customers like the attendees here [today]," said Andrew Nelson, XCOR's Chief Operating Officer.

He added, "This investment represents a vote of trust and confidence in the markets represented by NSRC participants."

Jeff Greason, Founder and CEO of XCOR noted, "I believe we were able to raise funds in these trying economic times because XCOR has demonstrated compelling value to investors and customers. Our $60-plus Million backlog of orders for Lynx suborbital vehicles, flights on Lynx, and our unique reusable non-toxic rocket engines gives the investor community reason to take notice."

As part of this financing, XCOR is also happy to announce a reformulated Board of Directors. The directors include newcomer Esther Dyson, former venture capitalist Stephen Fleming, Chairman of the Space Studies Institute Dr. Lee Valentine, and company founders Jeff Greason and Dan DeLong.

Ms Dyson is well known for her perceptive early investments in the Internet, software and social media industries, her service on private and public corporate boards and foundations, and for leading NASA's Technology and Innovation Advisory Council.

Mr Fleming is a former general partner at the venture capital firm of ATV Partners and is now Vice President at Georgia Tech where he leads the Enterprise Innovation Institute. Dr Valentine is well known in the commercial space community for his leadership of the Space Studies Institute and his work with many early stage startup companies.

Work proceeds on the Lynx suborbital vehicle at XCOR. With the recent receipt of the Lynx Mark I fuselage, the continued testing of the liquid oxygen and kerosene propulsion system, the fielding of the non-toxic high performance bi-propellant reaction control system, and the recent release of request for quotes for the cockpit pressure vessel and wing strakes, XCOR is getting ever closer to first flight.

"While the recent and unprecedented disruptions in the capital markets have impacted every fledgling aerospace company, XCOR has weathered the storm and in 2011 we had our best year ever from a revenue and profitability perspective. And while the difficulties of the last few years have delayed the Lynx, we're excited about the challenges ahead.

"There is a lot of work and sizable risk in front of us, but XCOR continues its uncompromising commitment to safety and excellence. We remain focused on delivering our customers the coolest rocket plane on the planet," said Nelson.[/quote]

Four years after the rocket-powered Lynx project was unveiled at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the presence here of a full-scale vehicle mockup at the Spacecraft Technology Expo reveals two fundamental truths about the

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An interview with Jeff Greason, XCOR boss and a Burt Rutan style aeronautical genius. A lot of people would love it if he were appointed King of NASA.

In it he discusses how XCOR got started, and at the end some tidbits about their project after Lynx: a runway launch/landing 2 stage winged launcher with stages that would fly back to the launch site, and fly multiple missions a day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-9lh0aqbow&feature=player_embedded

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Glad to be watching the birth of the commercial space industry, but I can't help but wish I was born a hundred years into the future. Being 38, I doubt space flight will become affordable/viable for the middle-class within my lifetime.